It has been such an exciting start to the school year for our youngest school members! Kindergarten students have settled well into life at ‘big school’, making new friends and embracing all learning opportunities. 

Students are highly engaged during ‘Let’s Decode’ phonics lessons, and they approach ‘Daily Review’ in both English and Maths with enthusiasm! Students particularly enjoy playing ‘sentence hoop jumping’ in English and counting forwards and backwards from a given number in Maths. 

Students enjoy the opportunity to share their whiteboard work with peers and teachers during Explicit Instruction lessons, using the ‘chin it’ and ‘turn and talk’ strategies to showcase their work. Kindergarten teachers have been so impressed by the way students have adapted to these classroom routines.

Mondays and Thursdays are always fun in Kindergarten, as students venture around the school to attend Science, Information Technology, Performing Arts and Physical Education lessons with specialist teachers. Students also enjoy their weekly visit to the library with Mrs Hopman, where they choose their own book to borrow and participate in a class Read Aloud. We are also very fortunate to have Riley Nolan (Aboriginal Language/ Cultural Support Worker) sharing his cultural knowledge and supporting students in Kindergarten every Monday and Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, Kindergarten students enjoyed their first adventure to Carroll College for our Combined Schools Mass. We were very impressed by the reverence and participation the students demonstrated during this time. The bus trip to Carroll College was certainly a highlight for our Kindergarten Students. 

Of all the exciting events to date, nothing has compared to the joy of meeting Kindergarten’s Year 5 buddies! Kindergarten students are so proud to have made friends with an older student. They have attended Mass, a shared reading session and enjoyed a special lunchtime picnic with their buddies. The classes have plans for many more fun times together in the near future. 

Kindergarten students are to be commended on the levels of growth and achievement they have already demonstrated during this term at St Bernard’s. It is such a joy to see the happiness and pride on the children’s faces as they master new skills and form new friendships. The staff and students of St Bernard’s feel very privileged to welcome these amazing little people into our school community and can’t wait to see what the next weeks and months will bring!

Mrs Therese Armstrong & Mrs Sarah Davis

Kindergarten Teachers